Syracuse, N.Y. — Ninety-one days ago, Drew Allen was a savior, according to the man behind the counter in an apparel shop on Marshall Street. The 6-foot-5-inch transfer from Oklahoma, the one who sat behind Sam Bradford and Landry Jones, was going to continue the resurrection of the program, the man said, was going to elevate Syracuse to another level in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

He glided from Marshall Street up through the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and into the Schine Student Center to load up on some more gear for his family and friends. At his new school with his new program and his best chance yet to win a starting quarterback job, Allen was all smiles. Years of playing second fiddle at Oklahoma were, many people thought, about to pay off with a glorious opportunity under first-year head coach Scott Shafer.

Fast forward three months and everything is different. The flash from a television camera shines an unwanted spotlight on Allen's face Tuesday night in the lobby of the Syracuse football wing, and reporters pepper him with questions about what went wrong, what happens now and how he plans to handle being Terrel Hunt's backup.

Allen's world has turned upside down in those 91 days, with sky-high expectations and excitement plummeting down to earth as if fused to each of the six interceptions he threw in the first two games. A pair of less-than-desirable performances against Penn State and Northwestern forced coaches to give Hunt an opportunity in the home opener against Wagner. And when Hunt played lights out, leading Syracuse to more touchdown drives in the first half than Allen had in two weeks, the resurrector was replaced.

"I have no say on whether it was warranted or not," Allen said. "That's up to the coaches, and I understand that. They can do whatever they want, whatever is best for the team."

The coaches, according to Allen, have made no indication of whether or not he will play against the Green Wave on Saturday, but quarterbacks coach Tim Lester repeated the party line that Syracuse needs both Allen and Hunt throughout the remainder of the season in order to win.

"We're going to need Drew to win games," Lester said. "We can all dream that Terrel will stay hot, he's never going to get hurt and everything is going to great. But realistically we have two quality players that can help us win games."

It's a statement likely to irk the fans that bathed Allen with a smattering of boos during the first quarter of the game against Wagner last weekend. The sparse Carrier Dome crowd grew disgruntled as his first three drives yielded only three points, and even those were a gift from the Syracuse defense following a turnover that produced a short field. That he had thrown for minus-1 passing yards did not help.

The insertion of Hunt paid immediate dividends for Syracuse, and the redshirt sophomore calmly guided the Orange to the end zone on each of his first five possessions. His final stat line of 265 yards and three touchdowns was nearly flawless.

When Allen was finally re-inserted into the game midway through the third quarter, the plot from the week before had been reversed. Where Hunt had been the backup thrust into the meaningless minutes of the second half of a blowout against Northwestern, Allen faced that same scenario against Wagner. He was brought back in the third quarter to gain some confidence in mop-up duty.

The touchdown drive Allen orchestrated, which finished with a 4-yard pass to Christopher Clark, felt irrelevant following Hunt's brilliance.

"The thing we've talked about with him from the get-go is he's got to protect the ball better and he did," Lester said of the game against Wagner. "He went 8-of-11 and didn't throw a pick, so he's moving in the right direction, too."

But for now the script has been flipped, and it is Allen who produced the predictable sentences Tuesday about continuing to compete day in and day out because he is only one play, one injury, one poor performance away from receiving another chance. That used to be Hunt, but now he effused the confidence and swagger of a player playing the best football of his life.

Though both players insist their relationship has not changed despite the ongoing battle, Hunt did say they have not discussed playing time with each other because it is a "touchy subject." And Allen's curt replies to begin the interview session confirmed that notion.

When Syracuse kicks off against Tulane on Saturday it will be 94 days since the man behind the counter gave his diatribe about Allen and his potential greatness. The player he thought could complete SU's transcendence and buy the respect of the ACC's big boys will not be under center to start the game. He may not even play.

Instead it will be Hunt — the player who won the job in the spring, then lost it, then seized his opportunity last week to regain control — who takes the field as Syracuse looks to climb back to .500, to dig itself out of the hole that many fans attribute to Allen's poor play.

And all Allen is left with is a familiar message from Shafer, one he received forever at Oklahoma and must be tired of hearing.

"He just told me to be ready," Allen said. "It's kind of what I've been hearing for five years, so it's nothing I'm not used to."